Legacy of the Raven Lord
by nightdragon0
Summary: When Anzu, the Raven Lord, began to disrupt the Emerald Dream, one druid rose to face him. Little did he know the fate that awaited him, nor the incredible burden he was about to take upon himself.


_World of Warcraft and all related trademarks belong to Blizzard. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.  
_

* * *

**Legacy of the Raven Lord**

By nightdragon0

It was a typical day in the Icecrown region of Northrend. By typical, that meant ferocious snowstorms and howling winds nearly every minute. Day or night never really mattered for the storms had the skies darkened to a perpetual state of blackness. The howling winds chilled one to the bone and even one covered in natural fur, like myself, was not spared.

I merely snorted and pulled my robes on tighter. The chill was but a mere distraction.

At long last, the banners of the Argent Tournament Grounds came into sight. That was followed by tents, structures, and watchtowers set up by the Argent Crusade. I rode up towards the pair of human paladins, keeping watch at the gates in spite of the storm. I could only imagine what was going through their minds as they watched me ride up to them.

"Hail Tauren!" One of them saluted. "Welcome to the Argent Tournament Grounds!"

Throwing back my hood, I returned with a nod of acknowledgment.

"I am looking for the tent allotted to the Cenarion Circle."

"Back there, to the northwest. Your banner flies above it. You can't miss it."

"Thank you." I continued on without waiting for any further questions.

I watched the paladins out of the corner of my eye as they whispered to each other, pointing to my mount. I knew very well they were probably asking the same question that the other denizens of the grounds were. And some of the whispers weren't as subtle as they thought they were.

"What is that thing? A giant Hawkstrider?"

"Impossible! It's way too big."

"Dat be more like dem raptors! But with feathers."

Ignoring the batter, I rode over to the stables and dismounted. One of the stable boys approached and I quickly held up a hand.

"You'd better let me handle him myself." I gestured. "This fellow isn't a normal kind of mount. And he likes raw meat too...especially gnomes."

The young human nodded shakily and ran off to take care of his other duties.

"It's not necessary to scare people away like that." A familiar voice sounded.

"Fhyron." I snorted as the Night Elf druid approached. That was an involuntary response of our people to emotions like surprise or stress, and at least amongst druids, it was somewhat common enough knowledge for it not to be taken as a sign of contempt.

"By Elune's grace! It's good to see you again Talnoth. I heard..."

"Fhyron." I turned and glared downwards the Elf. "You don't have to be like all the others and tell me Vallas' death wasn't my fault."

The Night Elf paused, collecting his words. I knew he meant well, but I really wasn't in the mood for it.

"You need to let go of that thought."

"Fhyron, I appreciate the effort, but I've just had a long ride and I'm tired. Can we do this once I've had some rest?"

"I apologize." Fhyron bowed. "Rest well, and I will see you later."

The Night Elf's footsteps slowly faded, leaving me alone in the stables with my mount.

It indeed was everything the bystanders had thought of it. A creature with the body shape of a raptor, but the appearance of a giant bird. One covered in dark blue and black feathers, possessing giant wings as its 'arms', but being unable to fly, and an elaborate set of tail feathers that swept about as the creature stared into my eyes. It was even adorn with a huge jewel hanging from its golden necklace.

A Raven Lord...

"But it is my fault, isn't it?" I stroked the side of the creature's neck. "Back then..."

* * *

I peered out of the bush, and had to quickly duck down as the Arakkoa guard walked past. While I was certain I could take down the bird-like humanoid, I didn't want the sounds of a struggle alerting more guards. This was one of their larger camps in Blade's Edge Mountains, and one we were taking a huge risk in sneaking into.

Fortunately, my cat form was as nimble as it was stealthy, and I stepped past undetected. I spotted Vallas nearby, his current form being that of a black lynx, as opposed to my brown, horned lion form.

We were almost at our destination: the last of the small shrines built by the Arakkoa as symbols of worship to one of their gods. All that stood between us and our objective now were the couple of Arakkoa guards standing vigilant over the shrine.

As per our plan, Vallas moved over to a clump of bushes across from our hiding spot, and tossed a rock at one of the nearby trees. That caused the guards to perk up, squawking excitedly. One of them ran over to investigate, while the other stood by the shrine.

_Perfect!_

By cover of the foliage, I moved closer and closer towards him. Letting the predatory instincts of my feline form take control, my breathing slowed and muscles tensed.

_Now!_

I pounced, claws outstretched, fangs going for the throat. For a moment, I saw red. But the guard never had a chance.

A quick scan of the area indicated that my attack had gone unnoticed. Grasping the corpse in my jaws, I dragged it behind the shrine, under the cover of the foliage there. Not the perfect hiding spot, but it would have to do for now.

With a soft patting of paws, Vallas seemingly materialized out of the shadows, reverting back to his Night Elf form. He had apparently been successful in silently dispatching his foe too.

"That went well." He whispered. "Bring out the pendant and let us get this done."

Nodding, I concentrated and initiated my shapeshift. Front paws and claws became hands and rear ones became legs. Fangs retracted into my mouth as my jaws and snout reformed. I stood up shakily, having gone from quadruped to bipedal in that instant.

"Here it is." Digging into my pouch, I brought out the pendant we'd obtained from the Arakkoa camp.

Calling upon the magic enchanted in the pendant, I returned to the shrine and placed my hand on a small totem located in the center. It was a very unnatural feeling, utilizing a magical artifact that drew its power from the souls of the dead Arakkoa. Nevertheless, it worked and the words inscribed upon the shrine flowed into my mind. These, I recited to Vallas, who quickly scribbled them onto a parchment.

The two of us then retreated behind some cover to review our findings.

"What do we have?" I stared at the parchment that Vallas held in his hand, still slightly unnerved from the strange voice of the shrine speaking into my mind.

_From the darkest night shall rise again the raven, shall take flight in the shadows, shall reveal the nature of its kind. Prepare yourself for its coming, for the faithful shall be elevated to take flight with the raven, the rest be forgotten to walk upon the ground, clipped wings and shame._

_Steel your minds and guard your thoughts. The dark wings will cloud and consume the minds of the weak, a flock of thralls whose feet may never leave the ground._

_The old blood will flow once again with the coming of the raven, the return of the darkness in the skies. Scarlet night, and the rise of the old._

_The raven was struck down once for flying too high, unready. The eons have prepared the Dark Watcher for its ascent, to draw the dark cloak across the horizon._

"This is certainly disturbing." Vallas frowned.

"It also makes sense." I snorted. "That raven that attacked Clintar and us in the Barrow Dens? Like it came out of the Emerald Dream?"

"Morthis' suspicions may very well be true." Vallas agreed. "But for now, we should go, before..."

"Sssqqquuaaawwwwkkkkk!"

I did the only thing I could think of and swung my mace into the head of the Arakkoa, sending him flying. Unfortunately right into the plain sight of his companions.

"Not good!" I gasped.

The guards, six, no seven, were closing in on us.

"We have to go! Now!" Vallas leapt up and shifted into his cat form, raking his claws across the face of the nearest guard.

I transformed into my bear form, just in time to catch a couple of arrows in my left shoulder. Letting out a roar mixed with rage and pain, I bashed another Arakkoa away with my paws and glared at the one who'd shot me. The bird-creature seemed to draw back in fear of being stared down by a ferocious, horned bear salivating at the mouth.

However, I didn't hesitate and charged right into the fray.

* * *

CLANG!

The blow stung as my opponent drove his lance into my shield, nearly throwing me off balance. Fortunately, my mount moved to compensate and I was able to regain my balance. The Raven Lord was certainly not one to be trifled with.

My opponent saw this and urged his Kodo away, moving to my back. He was another Tauren, though one much younger. The tournament had attracted many of my people eager to prove their worth, and this one was another aspiring youngster.

I brought my mount around and we faced each other. Bringing my lance forward and yelling, I charged. My opponent did the same, but as we neared one another, he managed to duck under my lance swing and jab his into my shield. The shock was even more painful that before, in addition to it traveling up to my bad left shoulder.

The shield slipped from my grasp as I struggled to hold on to the reins. My foe turned, seeing a good opportunity to knock me off my mount. But the Raven Lord wouldn't have that. It let out a loud, horrifying screech that startled my opponent's Kodo. This in turn caused him to hesitate, having been thrown off balance momentarily. I took the opportunity and swung. Hard.

My foe hit the ground with a loud thud. This was my chance, I turned my lance, ready to deliver a...

"STOP!"

My body was abruptly thrown out of the saddle and onto the ground. Groaning, I rolled over onto my back and found myself staring up into the face of Runok Wildmane, the tournament's Grand Champion of Thunder Bluff. My best guess was that he'd used his own Kodo to ram into my mount.

"By the Earthmother! What were you doing?" He snorted. "I'd been calling for a halt the moment you lost the shield. And your opponent had been dismounted. That is a clear indication to stop a bout."

I don't think I heard much else he had to say until the bloody haze lifted from my eyes. I should've been horrified that I had nearly gone and speared a downed foe, one of my own people no less. But somehow, that thought wouldn't lift. It was instead a feeling of anger.

Turning my head, I saw the young Tauren rising unsteadily to his feet. He seemed to be too dazed to know what had nearly transpired, which was probably a good thing on his part.

I probably lost consciousness at one point. But when my mind was next clear enough to comprehend things, I was leaning against a pile of spare wooden support beams with Runok kneeling over me.

"Feeling any better?" The armored shaman queried.

"Somewhat." I half heartily nodded.

"This isn't the first incident."

I turned away from his piercing stare.

"You can't go on like this." Runok growled. "It's accomplishing nothing more than taking your stress out on the other tournament valiants. You could have even caused a diplomatic incident if you'd been jousting with one of the Alliance valiants."

"Wouldn't have mattered. I'm not technically part of the Horde anyway." I gestured towards the Cenarion Circle's crest on my tabard.

"But you are a Tauren. And we do want to help you. But you won't get anywhere if you keep hurting yourself." Runok closed his eyes. "I will not pretend that I knew the companion you lost. But I will ask if you really think that he sacrificed his own life for you to honor his memory this way? What would his spirit, watching over you, think, to see you go on living like this?"

"I..."

"Friend, you need to go home, to meditate and recover. You are in no condition to be fighting here..."

"No! I don't want to go back!" I snapped up, grasping his arm. "I can't focus on meditation right now! They're only going to make me rest and I'll be bored out of my mind!"

"This is not a choice I'm giving you. I am having you sent home." Runok slowly pulled his arm out of my grasp. "We have already lost many in this terrible war against the Lich King. We do not wish to lose any more that we can avoid."

With that, the shaman stood up and departed with a nod. I was left sitting there by myself. Growling in rage, I snatched up a fallen lance and hurled it into one of the racks, knocking the entire thing over. That caused a few eyes to turn in my direction, which quickly went back to their own business. Perhaps mainly because they saw no sense in irritating an already angry Tauren.

I closed my eyes, fists clenched and jaws gritting. When I opened my eyes again, I found the Raven Lord standing in front of me. It was always hard to derive any emotions from it. However, its eyes seemed to burn with the same anger I felt.

* * *

"Rarrrgghhh!" And off the hill I went.

Immediately, I shifted into cat form to try and regain my balance. Unfortunately, my claws somehow slipped on the muddy soil. I went head-over-heels and smashed face-first into the bottom of the hill.

Stars flashed in front of my eyes and the pain in my lower jaw set in. I had to spit foul-tasting soil out of my mouth too. Over the ringing in my ears, I could still hear the excited chirping of the sparrowhawks...almost as if mocking me.

Me! The only cat in both Azeroth and Outland to land on his face!

"That looked like it hurt." Vallas chuckled, jogging over.

_That was not funny! _I snorted, or at least wanted to. Being in cat form, it came out as a series of snarls and growls. Druids, however, often developed an 'ear' for understanding other druids in form.

Our further delving into the mysteries of this 'Raven Lord' had led us all around Outland. At the moment, we'd established that we needed to seek out pieces of a shattered raven cult tablet. To do that, we'd been sent to capture a rather skittish sparrowhawk in Nagrand to aid us in the search for the tablet fragments.

And that was the current stage of the 'quest', which wasn't proving easy.

"They basically saw me when I tried to sneak up." I groaned, reverting to my normal form and rotating into a seating position.

"I noticed. We'll have to try another approach then."

"Do we really need it alive?" I grunted.

"You need to calm down friend." Vallas placed a hand on my shoulder. "Getting frustrated will get us nowhere."

"True..." Shutting my eyes, I relaxed my tense muscles and calmed my breathing.

"We'll try another approach then." Vallas continued talking. "Hmm...perhaps I could try a spell to soothe their emotions."

"Will that really work?"

"We won't know until we try." The Night Elf shrugged. I sensed that he was eying the wandering sparrowhawks. "Could you try pushing them towards me again?"

"How about you be the cat and I cast the spells this time?"

"Are you calmed down enough to do so?"

"Trust me." I opened my eyes, looking upwards from my seated position.

Vallas' face showed a pang of concern for a while. But he soon broke into a smile and nodded.

"I trust the look in your eyes."

"Then let's go!" I sprang up.

Vallas shifted into his cat form, landing lightly on all fours and making his way to the other side of the hill. I climbed up myself, but only partway, and waited. It wasn't long before I could hear the startled screeching of the sparrowhawks again. The birds had sensed Vallas' position and were moving away from him...and right towards mine.

I caught sight of one, a young, healthy-looking male. Focusing my attention on it, I reached out, calling upon the blessing of the wild to aid me.

_Calm little one. I'm not here to hurt you._

I made contact with the sparrowhawks' mind and felt it begin to relax.

_Good little one. I am a friend._

The other sparrowhawks around were now chirping excitedly. Shutting out the distractions, I continued to focus on that particular one. He remained with me as well, seemingly attracted to the sound of my mind's voice.

_Sleep little one._

I quietly chanted one final spell. The tiny bird slowly fluttered to the ground, drifting into a deep sleep. I simply walked over and scooped it up in the net we'd been provided with.

It wasn't long before Vallas came running over, returning to his natural form.

"Well done!" He congratulated.

"That was a good idea on your part." I patted the sleeping bird gently. "I would have never thought of using those soothing spells."

"I didn't initially. I got the idea from you."

"Me?"

"The way you were so flustered, but overcame that to reach the same state of mind as the spell you were channeling."

"Well, I..."

"No, don't take me wrongly. That is a good thing in my opinion." Vallas clarified. "Although there are times in combat where we, as feral druids, must flow together with the animal instincts of our forms. And truly, you are someone I would not like to face as an opponent."

"Haha." I snorted. "I don't think I would like to fight myself either."

* * *

_With an animalistic scream, the abomination stumbled and finally collapsed, gore and guts splattering everywhere. I stepped back, wiping the blood out of my eyes with my paws. _

_It was hard to decipher anything over the din of the battle, but I knew the Argent Crusade ground forces were slightly scattered, with reinforcements some ways behind. But here I was, fighting alongside the survivors of a forward scouting party. A place where I was not even supposed to be._

_I was blatantly disobeying orders to return home and had instead jumped into the heat of this battle. Although surprised, the paladins certainly weren't complaining about the extra help._

_It was hard to keep track of exactly what was going on. I gave in more and more to the feral instincts of my cat form, leaping about in the fray and slicing through the Lich King's minions. _

_A couple of walking skeletons were easily dispatched. I ripped a Lich's arm out, leaving it to be finished off by the Argent Crusade forces. Even after spitting out the severed arm in midair, it left a sour taste in my mouth. The leaping motion carried me onto the head of another abomination. I raked the creature's face in a frenzy, causing it to struggle and violently toss me off. _

_I felt the wind knocked out of me as I hit the ground, and was abruptly slammed into by something, sending me rolling and finally sprawling across the floor. I tried to get up, but the red shade of my own blood got into my eyes, obscuring my vision. Something else rammed into me from the side, taking me down again. _

_When I next managed to look up, it was a massive skeletal colossus that I was facing. One with it's gigantic sword ready to strike. I scrambled to move...but I wasn't fast enough. I felt, as much as heard, the bones in my limbs snapping. And I knew no more. _

"Grr...garghh..." I blinked, slowly opening my eyes.

The battle, Icecrown, they were all gone. I was instead lying inside of a tent of familiar design. The one and only place that it could be was Thunder Bluff. I was back home...but how?

As I glanced around, I noticed that I was lying on a bunk, covered up to my neck by the sheets. This looked very much like a 'medical tent', for lack of a better term.

It was then that I came to the horrifying realization that I couldn't feel my limbs. The shape of my body beneath the sheets didn't look right either.

_No...no...no..._

In that frantic moment, I managed to twist my neck enough to grab the sheets and pull them off. I could only stare after that.

My naked body was scarred and covered in bandages. But there were barely even stubs left of my arms and legs. Even my tail wasn't there. I wanted to scream, but I just couldn't get a sound out. My jaws refused to move. I tried wiggling and struggling, but the feeling in my body simply ended at my shoulders and lower torso. Things seemed to freeze into that moment, and all of a sudden, sped up.

Many of my fellow Tauren come in at times, but their faces and voice were a blur. Healers were around every now and then to watch over me. I remember trying to eat from a nearby plate while no one was around, having to twist and stretch my jaws. Only for my efforts to drop the fruit onto the floor, leaving me roaring in frustration.

Then I looked up, and found the Raven Lord standing over me, staring at me. Its eyes however, were full of that anger and rage. And the memory abruptly hit me. I had been the one who'd attacked the scourge in Icecrown. I'd done so in a bout of frustration after my talk at the tournament grounds. The Argent Crusaders had assumed I was an adventurer who'd gotten into trouble and had rushed to help. And many had died for it. All because of me...

"_Those around you are doomed to die." _The voice of the Raven Lord whispered. The same voice I'd heard while reading from the Arakkoa shrines.

"No...no...I...I..."

"_But you alone with live. You alone will always survive. Survive to see those you most care about die by your actions...survive...to suffer more..."_

"No...stop...please stop!" My instinct was to cover my ear, but I no longer had hands and arms to do so. I tried to run, but I could do nothing but wiggle helplessly on the spot. I didn't have the legs to move with.

"_He...he was merely the first..."_

I couldn't stop the memory from flashing into my mind. The fateful day Vallas and I had drawn the Raven Lord out of the Emerald Dream and confronted him. We'd both been beaten back, and then...

_I howled in pain, struggling as the Raven Lord pinned me down. It became harder and harder to breathe, ribs finally cracked. And suddenly I was free._

_Gasping, I rose to all fours, being in cat form, and realized why. Vallas, in his own cat form, had pounced. Despite beaten and battered as he was, he'd still attacked...and was now held in the maw of the Raven Lord. The nightmare beast slammed Vallas onto the ground, grabbed his neck in its talons..._

"_Noooo!"_

_And twisted. The dull snapping of his neck resounded through the halls. The Raven Lord tossed Vallas' body aside and calmly strode up to me. In a fit terror, I could no longer hold my shapeshifted form and reverted back to normal._

_It stared straight at me, eyes full of hatred and rage._

"_You will live in your nightmares...forever."_

"Talnoth? Talnoth!"

A voice? Vallas? But no, he was dead...

"Talnoth! Come to your senses!"

WHAM!

* * *

"Rarrgghh!" I blinked.

The first thing I felt was the pain in my jaw. The next thing I realized was that Vallas was kneeling in front of me, with a fist raised and clenched. Instinctively, I brought up my hand to rub my jaw. My hand!

I looked down. My body was whole, clad in my familiar Thunderheart Harness. This room, the dull gray walls and bone altars...it was in Sethekk Halls.

"Arghh...what?" I muttered.

"By Elune's grace! You're back!"

"What? Where? You're alive! How?"

"Look!" Grabbing my shoulder, the Night Elf turned me towards an object beyond the fallen pillar we were hiding behind.

It was Anzu, the Raven Lord, currently screeching and howling as he stamped about on the spot. I was confused until I caught a whiff of an odd scent in the room. Vallas must've distracted the giant raven with some of his alchemist potions.

"What are we doing here?" I finally managed to form a coherent sentence. "We're fighting him? Then, Icecrown, you...your death! Then I was mutilated and crippled by the scourge!"

"Talnoth! This is the present. We're..." Vallas paused. "Of course, we drew him out of the Emerald Dream!"

"The Emerald Dream?"

"No, more of a Nightmare. Listen to me, whatever visions you may have experienced, they were not real! The power of the Nightmare played upon your fears!"

_A mere dream? But the visions, they were so real…it…it couldn't…_

"Foolish druids! You cannot stop me!" The Raven Lord screeched. "I will claim the Emerald Dream as my own!"

"Talnoth!" Vallas grabbed my shoulders and shook me. An impressive feat given our size differences. "Trust in your training and trust in your heart."

He briefly touched my forehead and smiled. With that done, Vallas leapt out from behind the pillar, transforming into his black lynx form as he did. Loud screeches echoed through the halls as he went claw-to-claw with the Raven Lord.

I could only remain seated, leaning against the pillar and shaking with fear. I tried to clench a fist, and found my entire arm trembling. That feeling of having lost my limbs and having my body end at the shoulders and waist lingered on.

That dream, no, nightmare, it had been too real. I had felt everything…the pain…the rage…the agony….the helplessness…

_That was the future? That was a reflection of who I truly was?_

A cat's howl of pain emerged over the screeching of the battle. Vallas needed help…but my legs were too shaky to get my body upright.

_I am this much of a coward…am I?_

Vallas roared again, seemingly louder than before. I shut my eyes.

Then, I felt it. The boon he'd placed upon me.

_Mark of the Wild._

The sign of us, druids of the wild.

_Never forget, we druids are the preservers of the balance. Now and forever. _

"The balance…"

Perhaps it was that thought, that spur of emotion. But next thing I knew, I'd sprung into action. Shifting into my bear form, I rammed the Raven Lord with all my might, then switched to cat form and leapt backwards, evading a counterattack. Vallas, who'd been thrown into a corner, used this opportunity to attack the raven's back, causing it to hiss loudly as he jumped away.

The raven turned and gave pursuit as Vallas retreated.

However, something happened before they made contact. It was as if a greenish fog had suddenly filled the area. The shapes of Vallas' and the Raven Lord's bodies became distorted to my vision. No, it was not just them, but my own body as well.

_We're stepping into the Emerald Dream!_

Perhaps it was due to the power of the moonstone we'd used to forcefully draw Anzu out of the Emerald Dream and to us in the mortal realm. That created an abnormality in the already strange laws of the Dream. Anzu had existed in a physical form in the Dream…and now, so did we.

Anzu suddenly moved with renewed fury. Vallas' side was raked and the Night Elf kicked aside. The raven then came towards me. As I tensed for an attack, I abruptly found myself lifted into the air by some unseen force.

My vision blurred, and then I realized I was looking at my body from the outside. But at the same time, I still saw through my own point-of-view, one that the Raven Lord was glaring straight into.

"Leave your mortal shell and wander lost in the Nightmare!"

"Rarrgghh!" It was hard to describe, but I somehow knew that my spirit was being torn away from my physical body. I growled and struggled, unsure of what to do. I'd never been trained for anything like this.

As if out of nowhere, Vallas suddenly appeared, pounced onto the Raven Lord's shoulders, and sank his fangs into the back of his foe's neck. The forces holding me receded, and I hit what seemed like solid ground.

Quickly shaking the giddiness out of my head, I rose and turned back to the battle. What I now saw was Vallas struggling with Anzu…and a duplicate, semi-translucent image of each one, caught in the same struggle. I realized that both of them were fighting to keep their spirits from being severed from their physical bodies.

Stunned, I hesitated, unsure if trying to help Vallas would make it worse.

But in the midst of the struggle, Vallas' eyes turned towards me. No doubt his cat form possessed those same glowing eyes his people did, making it hard to infer his expression. But somehow I knew. His face told me everything.

_Now!_

My lion form roared with all its might…and attacked.

* * *

"I'm really here, this time."

The cold, the chilling winds, the sight of the Argent Tournament banners in the distance, everything felt so familiar.

I urged my mount forward, eager to get under some shelter. This Raven Lord would definitely be drawing curious glances and whispers from the crowd, but it was something I'd become accustomed to.

The banners of the Argent Tournament Grounds drew closer and closer. That was followed by tents, structures, and watchtowers set up by the Argent Crusade. I rode up towards the pair of human paladins, keeping watch at the gates in spite of the storm.

"Hail Tauren!" One of them saluted. "Welcome to the Argent Tournament Grounds!"

Throwing back my hood, I returned with a nod of acknowledgment.

"I am looking for the tent allotted to the Cenarion Circle."

"Back there, to the northwest. Your banner flies above it. You can't miss it."

"Thank you." I continued on without waiting for any further questions.

_Everything, it's just like in my nightmare…_

"What is that thing? A giant Hawkstrider?"

"Impossible! It's way too big."

"Dat be more like dem raptors! But with feathers."

Ignoring the batter, I continued onward, shaking my head.

_No, as much as it's like my nightmare, there's something different already…_

"_Giant Hawkstrider? That is the most insulting comment I've heard yet."_ A familiar voice hissed in my mind.

"Let's just get out of public eye first, shall we, Vallas?" I whispered.

"_Indeed."_

Indeed, Vallas.

It seemed like ages ago that we'd succeeded in vanquishing Anzu, the Raven Lord. However, that victory had come at a price. Vallas had lost his own body, and now inhabited Anzu's physical form. Ironically, Anzu himself had been cast off as a disembodied spirit into the Emerald Nightmare, a fate he'd intended for me to suffer.

That outcome was only known to a select few. To all others, what I had with me with was an abandoned offspring of the Raven Lord.

However, we feared Anzu would not so easily deterred from his quest to return to the mortal realm. He might try to reclaim his physical form. Wherever in the Dream or Nightmare he may wander, he would attempt to rise again. And we would stand vigil…waiting for that day.

As I unloaded my meager possessions, I placed my staff leaning against the side of a tent. It was a staff I'd crafted the night after that fateful battle. A staff shaped after the head of a raven, with a huge crest, a curved beak and glowing blue jewels for eyes. The base of the staff was in turned modeled after the talon of a bird, decorated with feathers and a white gem hanging from a 'necklace'.

A weapon crated in the image of our new eternal foe…dubbed the Origin of Nightmares.

"_Are you still fearful of what is to come?" _Vallas' voice asked, staring at my weapon through foreign eyes.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." I snorted. "But…"

"_But?"_

"I've come to accept that the fear is part of me too. Part of us." I stroked the side of his feathered neck. "Just like how we must co-exist with our beastly instincts while in animal forms, I have to flow with the rage I feel, without letting it control me."

"_You have truly become very perceptive, Talnoth."_

"But after all that, I still couldn't fully save you. And now you're stuck with living in the body of a beast...one that needs to remain eternally vigilant, least Anzu return."

"_You have dedicated yourself to sharing in my burden. That is the best thing I could ask from."_

"Our burden." I nodded.

We druids are the preservers of the balance. And this was simply one more burden, one more task in our lives. One more part of our mission in maintaining the natural balance of Azeroth.

I am Talnoth Mistrunner, vanquisher of the Raven Lord. I am now his eternal watcher and nemesis.

"Come the trails as they may, and I will face them headlong…"

**-END-**

* * *

**Author's note (Spoilers):**

_Hopefully you're at this part after reading the whole thing, otherwise I'd suggest you scroll back up. But what I will do is clarify a few things here. Firstly, if you think the narrator of the story is a little insane, yes, it was my intention to make it feel that way. That ties into how his narration seems somewhat out of place. _

_The other thing I was aiming for was to make the reader think that Northrend scenes (the opening scene) were the present, and the Outland ones the past. But in actuality, they were a form of precognition or future sight, and the present respectively. _

_Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed the read!_


End file.
